People, Locations, Episodes

The Homestead Act Is Passed by Congress

On this date in 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act.

This legislation gave authorized unrestricted settlement on public lands to settlers, requiring only residence, cultivation, and some improvement to a tract of 160 acres. Any person who was head of a family or was age 21, a United States citizen, and owned less than 160 acres, was eligible.

Racial Segregation In America, a story

*Racial segregation in the United States of America is affirmed on November 19, 1862. These were (are) laws that excluded facilities and services to communities based on race. The plight of Africans in the United States of America as chattel enslaved people was enforceable because of laws. Africans were brought to this country in the same category […]

The American Emancipation Proclamation Becomes Law

*On this date in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation; ordering that all slaves in rebel territory be freed.

A Black Woman is Kicked Off of a Cable Car

On this date in 1863, a Black woman was forcibly removed from a horse-drawn streetcar in San Francisco.

Charlotte L. Brown, the daughter of James E. and Charlotte Brown was the victim. Her father, who ran a livery stable in San Francisco, brought suit on her behalf against the Omnibus Railroad Company. The successful suit resulted in $5,000 in damages awarded as well as the right of blacks to ride the street cars. The Charlotte Brown case was one of a few civil rights cases brought by prominent free blacks in California to protest discrimination on public transportation.

James Coody Johnson, Black Creek Lawyer born

The birth of James Coody Johnson in 1864 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black Creek lawyer, politician, cowboy, and entrepreneur.

His father was Robert Johnson, an African Creek interpreter for the Seminole nation, and his mother was Elizabeth Davis (Johnson), daughter of Sarah Davis. Young Johnson was born at Fort Gibson, OK, where his mother had gone for protection as a refugee during the Civil War.

William Twine, Lawyer and Newspaper Publisher born.

*William Twine was born on this date in 1864. He was a Black lawyer and newspaper publisher. William Henry Twine was born a freedman in Richmond, Kentucky. His father, Thomas J. Twine, was a wheelwright and former slave of mixed Black and Native American ancestry; his mother, Lizzie Twine, was an African woman. Twine settled […]

‘Forty Acres and a Mule’, a story

On this day in 1865, General William T. Sherman issued a special field order that would have provided each African American family 40 acres of land and an army mule to work the land.

In the midst of his “March to the Sea” during the Civil War, General Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton met with 20 black community leaders of Savannah, Georgia.

The First Black Attorney Practices Before the Supreme Court

*On this date in 1865, John Rock became the first African American attorney to practice before the Supreme Court.

Rock was formerly a dentist and justice of the peace in Boston.

Juneteenth National Freedom Day is Observed

This date marks the Juneteenth National Freedom Day. Celebrated on June 19, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It is the name given to Emancipation Day (or Freedam Day)_by African Americans in in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in town and read General Order #3 to the people of Galveston.

The 13th Amendment Of America’s Constitution is Adopted

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified on this date in 1865.

George Woodson, Lawyer born

*The birth of George H. Woodson in 1866 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American lawyer.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is Passed

On this date in 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act over the veto of President Andrew Johnson.

J. Frank Wheaton, Minnesota Lawyer born

*John Frank Wheaton was born on this date in 1866. He was an African American politician and lawyer.

The Reconstruction Acts are Decided

*The Reconstruction Acts were decided on this date in 1867. The 40th United States Congress passed four statutes during the Reconstruction Era, which addressed the requirement for Southern States to be readmitted to the Union. The initial legislation, called the Military Reconstruction Acts, was passed on March 4, 1867. The title was “An act to provide for the […]

William Lewis, Athlete, and Scholar born

On this date, we remember, the birth of William H. Lewis, born in 1868. He was an African American lawyer and football player.

Born to former slaves in Berkley, Virginia, William Henry Lewis worked to pay for his education at Virginia Normal Institute (now Virginia State University). He later attended Amherst College in Massachusetts. Excelling as an orator and athlete, Lewis was one of the first Black men to play collegiate football, serving as team captain in 1890 and 1891. He met his future wife (Elizabeth Baker) at his graduation.